


Friends With Soup

by sunspot (unavoidedcrisis)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Soup, relationships are hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22427269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unavoidedcrisis/pseuds/sunspot
Summary: Sex is easy, relationships are hard, soup is delicious.
Relationships: Maria Hill/Steve Rogers
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Friends With Soup

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tielan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/gifts).



Maria heaves a sated sigh and slides off her perch on Steve's hips. She sits on the edge of the bed for a moment before standing to redress. She finds her bra and panties, but her phone is still somewhere in the mess of clothing.

"Time check?" she asks.

"It's seven thirty-one," Steve says, glancing at the clock on his bedside table, the old, ticking thing that drives her crazy every time they make it back to his room.

"Earlier than I thought," Maria remarks.

He hums a little sound, that ponderous sound she recognizes as Steve about to say something he's unsure about. It doesn't happen often, but it's memorable from the first time he wanted to take her home.

"Dinner? With me?" The clarification was unneeded, but Maria would have been more surprised if he didn't include it.

"No, thanks," she says, automatic. Sex is easy, fun, straightforward, but relationships are… not any of those things.

"Maria." She turns to look at him, fixing a blank look on her face.

Steve pushes himself up on one elbow, sheet falling around his waist. Maria's glad she took a second before she turned, because for as much charisma as he normally has, it's at least double when he's in the buff.

"Steve."

"Let me buy you dinner, this once. I'm not even asking you to spend the night."

Everything in her says no, but as she opens her mouth, Steve looks down with a small smile. It's soft, sad, self-deprecating, and beautiful. Maria _hates_ it. "Fine," she says. "Nothing fancy, done in under an hour."

Styrofoam cups of soup from the bodega at the corner fit the bill. Before they leave the shop, Steve stops to pet the resident cat, calling it by name.

In that instant, Maria is charmed by him, thoroughly and maddeningly.

The soup is amazing, perfect for a chilly spring night, and they walk aimlessly around the few blocks while they sip it. The silence between them starts edgy, but eases up the longer they walk.

A cab cuts too close to the curb while they wait to cross and Steve pulls Maria out of the way by her elbow even as she was moving back under her own steam. She should be annoyed, but damn everything, it's suddenly a sweet gesture.

Maria doesn't know what exactly is happening, why, after such a great run of not getting involved with each other, she suddenly wants to ask about his day, but here they are. He even walks her to the subway.

"Thank you," Maria says, and she means it. She pulls him in, feeling the buttery, worn leather of his jacket over the firm curve of his shoulder. "For dinner and…" she trails off, suddenly realizing the only other things should could say would be 'thanks for the sex' or 'thanks for opening my eyes to the fact that I don't totally hate the idea of a relationship with you, you lovely, cat petting, dinner buying, charming person.'

"You're welcome," Steve says and it's so earnest that of course he means it.

Maria supposes sex, dinner, and a walk counted as a date, so a goodnight kiss was the only logical thing to do, and it's not like they hadn't kissed many times before. She kisses the side of Steve's mouth, like her mind couldn't decide if lips or cheek made more sense in the moment.

She's about to pull away and head quickly for the subway, but Steve turns and catches her mouth. It's way more than she was expecting or planning on, hot and close, sliding mouths, his hand tight against the small of her back. Too much, she thinks. Soup is one thing, but this kiss is comfortable and familiar in a way that she's not comfortable with.

Maria makes it to the subway without any further paradigm-shifting kisses or cups of soup. It's only four stops to her place, and that's not enough time to think. No matter. She's going to be up all night thinking about that kiss anyway.


End file.
